Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein told CNBC on Thursday that his firm’s agreement to establish a $ 5 billion investment vehicle with China’s sovereign wealth fund is aimed at putting money into “U.S. companies that could be helped by better access to China.”

The China Investment Corporation (CIC) and Goldman have pledged to split the investment with each side putting money into the fund, and each side raising new capital from companies in their respective nations, Blankfein said on CNBC in an interview from Beijing. Goldman was one of the first American banks to make inroads into China.

“These are the two biggest economies in the world,” Blankfein said of the U.S. and China, while urging cooperation for the mutual benefit of both nations. “Look at how much we have to gain when we work together,” he added.